One third of motorists confess they would flee after damaging another car

A third of motorists would consider making a quick getaway if they accidentally damaged another vehicle while no-one was around, according to new research.

A new poll commissioned by ContractHireAndLeasing.com found that a shocking 30%  they would consider scarpering if the damage they caused was only minor. Another 4% said they would go even if they caused extensive damage.

Honesty among drivers was found to vary extensively between age groups, location and income groups.

By region Scotland was found to have the most honest motorists, with 63% reporting they would make sure they could be contacted about repairs, while motorists in the North East appear to be the least honest. In this region, 7% said they would scarper if they damaged another car, compared to just 1% in Wales.

A further 36% in the North East said they would consider leaving the scene of the accident without passing on contact details, if the damage was only minor, compared to just 22% in Scotland.

The results of the survey also suggest that we get more honest. The poll of 2,021 British residents found younger drivers are most likely to consider making a getaway from an accidental bump or scrape. In the 25-34 age bracket, 7% reported they would leave the scene of an accident if they damaged another car even in the case of extensive damage, compared to just 1% of the 65+ age group. An impressive 63% of this latter age group said they would wait for the car’s owners to return or leave contact details on the car – the highest level of reported honesty of any group.

Breaking this down into cities; residents in and around Glasgow were the most honest, with more than two thirds (70%) reporting that they would own up to the damage they caused, followed residents in Southampton (65%) and Hull (64%) compared in contrast to just 43% of motorists in Bristol and 46% in Oxford and London. A shocking 12% of motorists around Brighton said they would beat a hasty retreat, closely followed by-motorists in Oxford (10%), Milton Keynes (8%) and Newcastle (7%).

Oddly the income of the perpetrator of the damage seems to have little influence on whether they behave admirably or not after damaging a car. Those on some of the lowest incomes and strangely, those in one of the highest earning brackets, were the most likely to say they would try and escape after damaging a car, polling 7% for those in £7k-14k per annum bracket and the £48k-55k bracket, compared to just 3% for those in middle-income brackets such as the £21k-28k and £28k-34k income groups. Those in these middle-income brackets were most likely to say they would ensure they could be contacted at 53%, compared 44% of those earning up to £7k per annum, or those earning £48-55k.

“We suspect that one of the reasons higher earning motorists are likely to make a retreat and hope they aren’t caught after damaging a car is because they may well be driving a company car, and don’t want the embarrassment of reporting their accident back at work,” suggests ContractHireAndLeasing.com’s Managing Director, Dave Timmis.

“It is sad to see a lack of honesty among motorists, who would try to avoid paying for repairs if no-one was around witness their accident. It is easy to accidentally scrape or hit another car, especially in a tight car parking space where many prangs happen. People should think carefully about how they would feel if someone else did the same thing to them, and left pick up the bill for repairs.”

On the whole, we are a nation of honest motorists; with more than half of us (52%) stating that we would own up if we accidentally damaged someone else’s car, even if no-one was around to witness it.